A10. Every time I’m in Santa Fe I go to Pecos National Historical Park. I’m drawn to the visible layers of human history in the park: ancient Puebloan, Spanish conquistadors and priests, the Civil War, ranching, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and modern archaeology. It’s all right there. #ParkChat

A9. I can’t think of any. I might just be not as aware/open to these things as others are. #ParkChat

A7. All the Cascade volcanoes have indigenous names and stories about their relationships with each other and with the peoples who live near them, including Mount Rainier aka Tahoma. Lots of stories about her temper and taboos on climbing above snow line. #ParkChat

A5. Every park has indigenous history, some highlight it or focus on it more. Every time I go, I am reminded of how little I know and can understand about other cultures, whether ancient or contemporary. It’s impossible for me to imagine those lives, but feels important to try. #ParkChat

A4. Like @camarowrx.bsky.social, thunderstorms while camping. Lightning striking in the campground at Lake Mead. I ended up spending the night in the concrete-block restroom with a couple other people. #ParkChat

A2. I don’t know about known taboos, but I try to be very respectful when visiting cemetery or funeral sites, or sites that are important to indigenous peoples. That often includes what some describe as “ruins." #ParkChat

A1. That the animals in the parks are tame—like parks are petting zoos. And hello, #ParkChat!

Great #ParkChat, @pamportland.org--thank you!

A11. Lake Clark, with my husband and favorite travel partner, Mr. Adventure. #ParkChat

I second these recommendations and would add that the Skagit Valley Co-op in Mount Vernon is excellent as well. #ParkChat

A10. When I was driving my daughter's car across the country to leave it with her in Baltimore, I was 35 miles from Golden Spike NHP and I didn't stop because I was trying to make time. When I am going to get back there?! 🤦‍♀️ #ParkChat

A9. I don't know that I've ever gotten lost, but I've run into a few trail intersections with missing signs and been awfully glad I always carry a paper map. #Parkchat

A8. "You might want to turn around here; we just saw a mother grizzly and two cubs coming down this trail." At Kenai Fjords. We took the advice. #ParkChat

A7. I love food, but I don't usually provide advice about food in the park. Towns outside, yes. Like, don't miss the elk burger at Cliff Droppers in Packwood, WA, outside of Mount Rainier. #ParkChat

A5. Washington has several state parks that are of national park quality. Luckily, they're not national parks so they're (mostly) not overrun. Deception Pass, Steamboat Rock, Cape Disappointment, Palouse Falls... #ParkChat

A4. A few years ago I was visiting my kid in Baltimore and we checked out Hampton National Historic Site with no preparation other than mapping "national park." It was so interesting, and of course delightful to explore with her. #ParkChat

A3. Something like 98% of visitors to the national parks never leave the pavement. Get on a trail and you're likely to have some of the park to yourself. #ParkChat

A2. Go to lesser-known sites. You will be blown away. #ParkChat

A1. I'd like to know more about interactions between the US Forest Service and the NPS over time. I know quite a bit about the 1930s-1960s in Washington, but I'm curious about elsewhere. Also, sorry I'm late, and hi, #ParkChat!

Great #ParkChat, @gibby73.bsky.social—loved seeing everyone’s terrific photos! Thank you!

A11. Here’s a self-made panorama I took in 1980 with my Kodak Instamatic 110 (note the original caption!). Everyone told me my pictures wouldn’t work but I ended up with some great shots. #ParkChat

A9. Do I have to choose? #ParkChat

A8. iPhone 5S. #ParkChat

A7. I haven’t taken a course, but I have watched a bunch of YouTube videos about how to take pictures with a phone and with a point and shoot, and I have found those very helpful. My photography definitely improved. #ParkChat

I can’t remember where this is from, but I’m sure I was experimenting with the dark sky mode on my little Canon. It works surprising well and was great for the aurora borealis a couple of years ago, too. #ParkChat

A5. I have taken pictures of people ignoring signs, as when I photographed a group of people literally sitting behind the “keep off the fragile meadows” sign at Cascade Pass in the North Cascades. But there aren’t rangers up there, so I just pointed the sign out to them and they moved. #ParkChat

A4. Boy, I don’t know. I think my photographs are usually adequate, sometimes pretty good, but nothing is coming to mind as a Bucketshot. I might have to do some searching. #ParkChat

A3. I have the goal of getting up for sunrise and the reality of capturing the sunset. It’s all good. #ParkChat

A2. I have definitely learned to love clouds and weather, and to take photos when the light is at interesting angles. #ParkChat

A1. So sorry I’m late, @gibby73.bsky.social! I use my ancient iPhone 8 (I know) and occasionally a Canon point-n-shoot. #ParkChat

So great to have Evan @onwardandupward.bsky.social back on #ParkChat! I'm already looking forward to their next guest host gig. Thank you!

A10. I have to hike. I learn by walking a place, so I don't feel that I've gained any understanding until I've hiked some. Visit the VC, watch the film, get a passport stamp (or four), try to read some history of the place beforehand. #ParkChat

A9. Simply having parks exposes many people to the outdoors. Park policies protect habitat, plants, and animals (and people). You may never see a wolf, but knowing they are there can help people feel connected to wild places and hopefully want to protect them. #ParkChat

A8. Alpine, subalpine forest and meadow, middle lowland evergreen forest ecosystems. Like all Cascade peaks, Rainier wrings out wet clouds coming from the Pacific and sends them east as ethereal white puffs. The Cascade crest is a varied climate with unpredictable weather. #ParkChat

A7. Every park has indigenous history. Mount Rainier, or Tahoma, is important symbolically and economically for many Northwest tribes. There are numerous archaeological sites in the park that attest to its millennia of use by indigenous people, uses that continue to the present. #ParkChat

A5. I try to prepare for people who don't know what they're doing or don't care about the rules that exist for everyone's safety. I can get really worked up about rude and/or clueless people, although I try (with mixed success) to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. #ParkChat

A4. Being on the jammed boardwalk at Grand Prismatic Pool in Yellowstone with several busloads of tourists, all of whom were holding iPads and phones above their head to take pictures, not looking where they or anyone else was going. It was frightening--not something I ever want to repeat. #ParkChat

A3. What an interesting question! I'm very at home in the National Parks, but to some extent they are designed to make visitors feel at home. I think I feel most in my element in national forests, monuments, preserves, and historical parks. They require more from me, and I like that. #ParkChat

A2. I love fall in the parks, followed by winter. Spring can be so unpredictable--every unexpected adventure I've had in the parks (snow, flash flooding, heat wave) has happened in the spring. #ParkChat

A1. For many years my home park was Mount Rainier. 90 mins by car, easy access for day hikes. Now I live farther away and am not yet sure what my home park is, although I walk through Fort Vancouver NHS often. I think I've felt most "away from home" in cave parks. Lots of unknowns. #ParkChat

Hello, #ParkChat, checking in from Vancouver, WA, where we had a little (gasp!) rain today.

A11. Talk to a ranger and follow their advice. Try to go early or late to the most popular sites to avoid the worst crowds. Be patient and kind: everybody else is also on vacation and also wants to see all the things. Speak up if you see someone acting unwisely. #ParkChat

A10. We've seen gorgeous night skies and attended terrific ranger programs at many parks in the Southwest: Bandelier, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains. #ParkChat

A9. Sunrise at Chaco Canyon is pretty great. Never been there on an equinox or solstice, but that would be fascinating. #ParkChat

A8. Head to the forest, where it will be 5-15 degrees cooler. Natural air conditioning. Lowland hikes at any of Washington's national parks will fill the bill. #ParkChat

A6. I've learned from experience to pace myself, drink even if I'm not thirsty, and make sure I am replenishing salts. A hike on Glacier View Trail in Mount Rainier when temps were in the 80s (only the 80s!) taught me this lesson. I was so sick, yuck. #ParkChat

A5. I think I'd say kayaking, but I can't recall ever actually kayaking in a national park. When I was a kid we did a raft trip on the Snake River through Grand Teton, which I dimly remember as being very fun. Not a SUPer. #ParkChat

A4. You'll work to get there, but it's hard to beat Image Lake in the North Cascades (technically Glacier Peak Wilderness). #ParkChat

A3. Three (very, very popular) classics in Washington: Cascade Pass (North Cascades), Naches Peak Loop (Mount Rainier), Shi Shi Beach (Olympic). #ParkChat

A2. Many Southwest parks' VCs are constructed of adobe. The thick walls really keep the heat at bay. Ancient technique, modern application. #ParkChat